Widow No Longer
Unwoven Ties A small ship, one used merely for recreational fishing, had been sailing the tumultuous seas surrounding Wano Country. Through the stormy winds, vortexes and tidal waves, the ship had managed to narrowly escape it all without any major damages. The only individual riding the boat was a scarred, rugged, muscular man with features resembling a . He maneuvered the entire ship on his lonesome, securing the sails, and then taking the helm once again. The boat continued to move across the sea, aiming for a peculiar island that withstood the tremendous storms. Three hours later. The same man appeared on the storm-ridden island. The boat that he was on had been anchored, albeit it was shaking with the violent winds. He paid it no mind. The rain and wind battered against his body. But he moved forward in spite of that. A small tavern could be seen before him. He went inside, not for any shelter or respite, but for information. As his first step was made, those who sat in the tavern going about their daily lives suddenly came to a standstill. The presence emitted by the man was more powerful than anything they could imagine in their life, and it stifled the entirety of the tavern. Ignoring the effects of his presence on the residence at large, the man moved forward to the barkeeper. "Where are the Makaze Bandits? I am the help you asked from the Black Widow Pirates." The man unveiled a portion of his affiliation, and suddenly the pieces of the puzzle clicked for the customers of this tavern. "T-that's...the "Blade Thief" Kosaka Isshin...! It has ta' be...'is albino features, 'ose deep red scars...And 'at disgustin' blade on his back..." As the local whispered, Isshin had turned around, his eyes flashing at the man for a brief moment, before he made his way out of the tavern. A mountainous region was the path he had to travel next. To Isshin, though, it didn't matter in the slightest. He took step after step, reaching his destination without any qualms for the harsh conditions. What truly caused him anguish on this particular day was his own ignorance, incompetence...his own failures. At the summit of the mountain, which he reached after more hours of perilous climbing, he bore witness to a bandit group's hideout. Littered with treasures across an area as large as a residential block, the bandits continued to chug down alcohol and feed on the wild animals of the area, laughing as they did. In their glee, they were unaware of Isshin's presence. Isshin did not attempt to perform an ambush — the opponents were too weak for that. Instead, he continued to march forward. His presence had become known, and the bandits drew their weapons. But every move they made was futile. Dozens of them launched themselves at Isshin at the same time, but these were futile moves. With only a single, horizontal slash, Isshin had grievously injured the lot of them without batting an eye. Another step forward. Another man fell. The cycle continued until he reached the boss of the Makaze Bandits. A foolish, obese fellow with no true strength. Meeting the pig-like man eye to eye, Isshin raised his blade. It was unnecessary. The man had already fell to the ground. Worthless. The lot of them, worthless. Not only to society, but to Isshin. What was he going to do with all his anger, wasting it on ants like these? He needed something more substantial. But there was nothing left in this wasted place. He began to exit the cavern in the summit, and walked down the mountain once more. It seemed that the weather had finally made way for the sun. “It’s a good thing you stopped,” Legs’ voice echoed from the basin of the mountain, her giant-form resting upon a fragment of the mountain like a man leaning upon a boulder. “Minnie foresaw that though, she told me that you weren’t going to go through with it. Still, I thought I’d come by and see for myself. Still…” she let her eyes fall upon Isshin, a hint of concern dwelling deep within them, “You don’t behave like that normally, Isshin. That’s how I know something is bothering you.” It was true. Normally, Isshin was the most behaved of the Black Widow Pirates; he had to be. He was their administrator, the man who single handedly kept the empire afloat. Whereas the other commanders were off conquering the seas, pillaging in Legs’ name, Isshin was home, bureaucrating the empire to stability, providing the funds and resources necessary for their wars to be won and their expeditions to be made. Though, for Legs, his duties often resulted in her having to meet with individuals she truly didn’t care to meet with, or a constant stream of filing paperwork that she truly would never understand. He kept her busy, yet for the growth and prosperity of her vision. She had noticed something was amidst when there was nothing left to sign. “Isshin,” she gently called out, “Talk to me. What’s wrong?” "..." Isshin was speechless for a moment. To think that his behavior was so odd, Koyuki herself came to visit him. It was true. There was something deathly wrong. And what was wrong, was himself. "...I don't know how I didn't see it, Koyuki..." Isshin began to speak, tears began to stream down his face. But his voice was still composed. "How did I not see that our son wanted to see the world?" Isshin looked towards the clear sky, staring at the horizon. "Or is it...that I refused to see it? I've failed...to both of the people I care about most in the world, Koyuki." He took a deep breath, and from a small pouch attached to his belt, he pulled out a piece of paper. It was drenched, but the picture of a youthful man was seen clearly as day. Fukuoka Soren, Isshin's precious son, and now...one of the Four Horsemen, a boy who has the whole world's eyes on him. "What's wrong, Koyuki...is that I can't do anything about this." Koyuki exhaled gently, bringing with it a small breeze of warm air to the surrounding area. “No, Isshin. You haven’t failed me or Soren, and you never will. If anyone’s fault, it’s mine.” She continued to lean on the mountain like a man leaning on a wall, her eyes focused onto the seas in front of her. “It is not the threat of the seas, or its allure that draws him to it. It’s simply opportunity. Soren has looked up to us so long, watching as we’ve changed the world, how our visions and ambitions have manifested into reality, and he feels the pressure of the world as our son to do the same. All he desires the opportunity to prove himself and cement himself as a hero of the Wano Empire.” Koyuki turned to Isshin and smiled. “He’s trying to earn his keep, Isshin. That’s all. We’ve been excellent role models. That’s all I can ask of you, as a man, Isshin. However, for myself…..” she paused for a moment. “This has always been an issue of mine. As I trek through the wasteland that is this world, innovating new paths, and creating better worlds, I always fail to see, not the path before me, but the people behind me, and I watch as they get consumed in the storm. Well, not again, right?” Her eyes lit up with resolve like a child speaking of dreams of the future. “We’ll find Soren and bring him back, and then we’ll live together….as a family. Static and Heili included, of course…” Koyuki extended her palm towards Isshin, which most would consider grabbing it, but considering her hand was bigger than his body, she just wanted him to jump into her hand. "..." Isshin sighed, chuckling slightly. Jumping on Legs' hand, he said, "That sounds like a plan." Isshin affirmed, but then looked towards Wano in the distance again. "I suppose we need to get the rest of the Black Widows up to speed. Otherwise rumors that spread like wildfire will star to burn our empire." “Yes,” Legs exhaled deeply, “That we do. Though, I can’t help but worry about their reactions.” She pulled Isshin up closer to her face. “I mean, I can see it now; Fischer will probably say something sarcastic, Thatch will….already know most likely, Indiana will make some joke about his sexual conquest.” She shook her head at the thoughts. “But, we have kept our secret long enough. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, at all. I guess now though, we can finally be more open about our relationship.” "It has been quite exhausting, hasn't it?" Isshin looked back at all the years that Koyuki and himself maintained the Black Widow Pirates for. Truly, the passage of time didn't stop for anyone. "Indeed, that is a positive out of all this mess. I just hope that this announcement doesn't cause confusion to spread in our military...But I'll try not to overthink it like I normally do. We should head back." Hanging by a Web The day had passed, and the sun began to set on Wano Country. As the residents headed to their homes, and the Empire paused for a day, the Black Widow Pirates arose to perform their duties. Today the elites of the Black Widow Pirates all gathered — Kamiyo, Kamiumi, Shichifukujin, Yokai, the Heavenly Descent Division Commanders and the Night Parade Commander. The recent news that shook the world regarding Fukuoka Soren's birth circumstances, and the Yonko's private relationship, all sent rumors throughout the Black Widows' impressive military. There was no doubt a degree of tension in this room that could not be withheld any longer. Of course, Isshin and Legs sat at the front of the commotion, ready to bear any brunt of accusation that people were gonna throw against them. Heili was quiet, and while that wasn't exactly uncharacteristic for her, one would think she'd have something to say about her newfound sibling and kinda-sorta step father. She was torn, however. There were just so many questions she could ask, so many she needed the answers to. Like everyone else, of course, but she felt she was owed just a bit more as the woman's flesh and blood. She decided that some of what she wanted to talk to her mother about could wait until they were one on one, but some needed to be said here and now. She moved from where she had situated herself, nearest the door in case she had to leave for whatever reason. She made her way to the front of the crowd, heels clicking on the ground and others moving out of her way so she could pass. She was practically royalty after all, daughter of the Yonko they served. Why shouldn't they move? Once she reached the front of the crowd, facing her mother, she cleared her throat loudly to let others know she wanted to speak. And that she had little patience for interruptions at this point "There are about a thousand things I want to say to right now, mother. Many of them unpleasant. But there is a nagging little thought that keeps pushing itself to the forefront of my mind." She hated having to look up at the woman, she really did. Thrice damned giantess... she thought to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest "I didn't realize it until that article had come out, but I had never thought you'd be one to keep secrets from or lie to me. I could count on you putting your kingdom first, on you paying more attention to your crew than me or my brother, on so many other crappy things that have come about over the years but I had always, in some corner of my mind, thought you would be honest with me. Yet another thing you let me down in I suppose." She let out a dry, humorless chuckle and pushed forward, trying to keep all emotions on a far back burner so she could get through this without breaking something or, heavens forbid, crying "So it makes me curious as to why. I couldn't care less about whatever you and your lapdog have going on behind closed doors, trust me, but for me to have a sibling, another brother out there, and to keep that from me? And I'm also assuming from Static as well. Why? To keep him safe? Separate? What was so important that you would hide his existence from his family for so long? I just...I can't wrap my head around that." Legs exhaled deeply. “Heili,” she responded, her tone as casual as she could make it. There was no doubt that her response wanted to be more….emotional. However, there was no time for that. Not while she sat in front of her administrators and commanders of her empire. Thus, she pushed them to the bottom of her gut, and spoke. “I understand your confusion and disappointment. However, know that this decision was not because of you, static, or anyone other than our enemies. As the child of both Isshin and I, Soren’s potential in this world, as viewed by the World Government or any other organization, is limitless. To ensure that he was not targeted by any other, or that you or your brother weren’t targeted under the same presumptions, I had to limit who knew Soren was our child to as many as necessary. This was not the plan forever, however. I was planning to tell you sooner rather than later; I just needed to ensure that Soren could protect himself first.” She paused, her eyes temporarily shifting away from her crew. “Though, I guess I was wrong there too.” Heili absorbed this information quietly, both the words spoken and the tone used. As she did, her eyes hardened and her face closed off. When she spoke again, her voice was a few degrees colder "I see...and what about me and Static? Why didn't you hide us similarly. We're all your children, we should've all gotten the same treatment. Unless you cherish Soren more than us, thought the risk to us was much more bearable than that to him." She paused for a moment and decided to be a bit merciful in her accusation "Or maybe there's another reason that hasn't occurred to me. So...what is it?" As Heili’s statement concluded, the air contorted into a cesspool of itself, as if two points of space were being forcefully meshed together. “Heili, I would stop lumping me in with you,” the voice responded as they stepped through the portal that had formed. “I’ve known for a while now that Soren was our brother. Maybe if you had been around, you would have heard them trying to make more of him,” Static teased, his tongue as sharp and sly as it had always been. He stood next to his sister, and before his mother, his face dressed in a devilish smirk. “Besides, I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this. We’ve always known that Legs has always been a captain before a mother. Which is why the solution here is simple, right?” His question was left open ended, raising the eyebrows of everyone in the room as they pondered on what he was prepared to say next. “We disown her. If she desires to be a captain, an empress, a Yonko, more than a mother, then let her. I already have afterall.” Legs grimaced. “Stati—” “It’s that simple, Heili. Her empire obviously means more to her than we do; she’s shown that she can replace us. Unless, old man Isshin can’t get it up anymore. Though,” Static brushed his chin gently like a philosopher, “I do wonder how long it will be until she replaces him with someone who can.” She barely spared her brother a glance, though she did address him "I forgot you were a sneaky little snake, big brother. I shouldn't be surprised you knew, but a little heads up might've been nice." Her eyes locked on Legs' face and stayed here, willing her mother to look her in the eyes with every fiber of her being "I just want to know. Is Soren objectively better than us in your eyes because Isshin is his father? In hiding him, you've expended more effort for him than you ever had on behalf of me or Static. What is it? Why aren't we good enough?!" She noticed she had started raising her voice, so she lowered it to a vehement hiss "Give me an answer!" Annabeth watched this exchange grow more charged by the second, a dry smirk pasted on her face as the heated discussion galloped towards a tempestuous climax. Beneath the surface, however, her head was spinning. She had returned to the seat of the Black Widow empire with the expectations of more work; as both a doctor and the Minister of Health & Welfare it was expected that she keep the empire's citizens well-fed and well-cared for. Yet here Anna was dealing with a mental crisis of her own; one that was shared by several of the higher-ups. She could hear the chorus of grumbles and buzzing discontent among contemporaries, felt accusations building on her tongue even as she found Legs' logic for the withholding of information, yet sympathized with the sense of invalidation felt by Heili and her brother. Finally, she spoke. "Tell me this Captain; why now? I'm sure you had numerous opportunities before now to divulge this important piece of information and spare yourself at least some of this...backlash, so why the hell would you wait for someone else to do it for you? I'd rather learn it from your mouth than read it in a newspaper," Beth started, trying and failing to keep an accusatory tone from her voice. In her mind, the empire was peaking, making this the worst of times to sow even unintentional rows, especially when it led to other questions; questions that percolated in her own mind. "If you can't trust us with something like this, how can you can trust us to do our jobs, to perform our duties? Power, fear, and dreams only go so far Captain; if you can't confide in us with something like this, I don't see why you bother with anything else." Erin was mostly awestruck by all of this. He'd been with the crew a little while now but he'd never seen such controversy between them. Legs and Isshin dealing with this all over their choice to hide their child. On one hand Erin understood their choices but the others also made sense. "I mean wouldn't we be able to help watch out for him if we knew?" Erin spoke. Gazing across at the faces of Legs and Isshin. Isshin was listening to the whole conversation quite intently. It directly involved him, of course. However, he found it odd that despite all these accusations, virtually nobody had directly made slander towards Isshin himself. Why was that? Did these people fight alongside Koyuki and not learn of her personality in the slightest? Or perhaps...they simply never understood the role Isshin played in this empire. "...I didn't think that the Black Widow Pirates that prided themselves on ruling the seas...would not be able to decipher a cause as simple as this." The Head of Operations spoke, breaking the accusations towards Legs and causing all eyes to fall upon him. Of course, someone like Isshin was not dissuaded by the killing intent exhibited by these Pirates. It was not a matter of strength, but rather, of resolve. His gaze matched the furious intent of his fellow Black Widow Pirates, as he continued to speak. "Just who do you think manages this Empire? Exactly who makes the decisions that ensure the citizens of this Samurai country do not try to slit the throats of the Black Widow Pirates? I do. In case you all have forgotten, my name is Kosaka Isshin, and I am Izanami. Among all of you, I sit at the highest seat of this empire, and am the Captain's advisor." Isshin's voice was not raised. But there was a ferocity to it. It was a strength that defied any expectation of Isshin as a peaceful man. Underneath the role of an administrator, was the strength and authority of the Shadow King. "Are you all understanding this a bit better now? Heili, Static, Annabeth, Erin? Staying adamant on the decision to protect Soren's identity and conceal our relationship was all under my suggestion." The revelation of this decision may have sounded like a foolhardy attempt to protect Daddy L. Legs' dignity, but it was anything but. For perhaps the first time in his life, Kosaka Isshin would trust in the Black Widow Pirates, enough to tell them his truth. "I was not born and raised the same way our Captain was. I was a nobleman. I did not live and breathe under my own desires. I lived under the desires of others. To the noble Samurai clans...information was a weapon. A weapon that could slit your throat should you not conceal it carefully. The moment Soren was born...I knew that his existence would cause a commotion. To be the child of two of the most powerful individuals in the New World...is not a light burden." Isshin paused, and took a breath. "A Pirate's affiliation is fickle. This is something we all know to be true. Deception is a common tactic among Pirates. When they find the opportunity, they seize it and with that, become stronger all the same. While we among the Black Widow Pirates pride ourselves to be honor-bound warriors...deceit is a tactic that cannot be avoided on these oceans." Isshin's eyes had not shifted from their gaze on the Pirates before him. "If we had raised Soren to be our heir...he would have known too much about our operations. He would become a liability without the strength to protect himself. And, knowing that...we hid everything from him, and from you." "In avoiding being overthrown by the natural tendencies of a Pirate, I embodied those very tendencies and deceived you all, our comrades in the Black Widow Pirates." The burden that was on Isshin's shoulder suddenly seemed to be lighter. The truth was in the air. The reasoning was lining up. Opinions did not matter at this point, what mattered was the truth. "Heili, Static. The reason you weren't as hidden as Soren was due to my insistence. As a Pirate, Legs believes in your strength very much, and was confident you would be able to tackle every threat. By comparison, I lacked faith in my son, not to mention, all of you...In doing so, I have gotten ourselves stuck in this predicament." Isshin stood up, after all this time, and took a deep bow towards the Black Widow Pirates present. "To all of the Black Widow Pirates before me. I apologize for my foolishness as this empire's Head of Operations. Emotions got the better of my judgement, and my pragmatism has divided us. I do not ask for your forgiveness, but I ask of something else." Isshin stood up, boldly facing the crowd. "I ask, momentarily, that we shove aside our insecurities, and focus on the moment at hand. The world would expect us to fall down and collapse with Soren's escape...but as the Black Widow Pirates that Daddy L. Legs has hand-crafted, I am sure she expects that we all will band together, overcome this strife, and move forward towards our goal to rule the seas." "Of course...if there is any further vendetta towards me, I am willing to bear the brunt of any anger necessary. But we cannot collapse, not until we break through this crisis." Clapping was heard from slightly behind Legs and Isshin. A red haired man wearing immaculate white garbs leaned against the wall. Upon his left shoulder sat a tuft of fur with a creature resting on it. He grinned at the audience, this was Thatch Vincent, he was more commonly known as the Demon Doctor. Thatch resided as the personal doctor of Legs. He had previously acted as the original doctor on the crew as they grew to Yonko, being the fourth member to join the crew. At one point he was the Minister of Health and Welfare until he brought Annabeth in to take over for him. These days he was mostly found tinkering with drugs and weapons in his many labs or accompanying Legs on her excursions. "Bravo Isshin, excellent speech. I would have weaved in a couple more jokes if I were you. But that's just me." Thatch spoke as he stepped up beside the two and briefly stuck his tongue out at Isshin. "I do suppose it isn't fair that all this animosity is going in your direction, we should at least split it three ways huh." Thatch turned to the crowd. "I also knew and kept it from ya so you might as well spill some anger towards me too." He grinned at the audience. "I honestly don't even think Isshin should be apologizing, he's done nothing wrong. It's their kid not yours, they did what they felt was right for their child and his life, whether they think they were right or wrong to do it is one thing. It's another to judge them for personal choices that don't concern you." His voice was calm but firm. He wasn't Izanagi or Izanami but his presence and legacy commanded a form of respect from the audience. "If Isshin, Iza-fucking-nami, thinks that Soren's identity should be kept under wraps. I'm gonna trust his judgement on that. Also it is again his son, not any of ours. We all have secrets, things we want kept under wraps from everyone for one reason or another. You can rationalize not knowing Soren was a child of Legs as a big deal cause it's a shock to you. To most of you knowing would probably change nothing more than the way you treated him, hell I bet someone out there was wishing they were extra nice to him or something." He glared out into the audience, letting out a breath. "So in conclusion you either shouldn't be mad at anyone for this entire debacle or you should be yelling at me for calling you all out." Of course there were two specific people there that a bit of his speech didn't apply to. "Static and Heili though, you two are a special case." He paused briefly. "Heili you got some inadequacy issues that need to be addressed." He looked to the other. "You too Static, maybe some pills to get some emotions back in your hollow body." He glared at the two, not many actually went after Static or Heili, they were part of the royal family after all. Thatch though, Thatch delivered their asses. He held no fear. "I didn't mean to distract from your point of unity Isshin. But I don't think you should be apologizing for trivial matters. Save it for when you actually mess up huh." He grinned at his longtime frenemy. Throughout the two speeches, Heili's anger started to bleed slowly away. Well, not away, some of it was targeted towards Isshin and some towards Thatch, if only because he called attention to her insecurities Damn redheaded sociopath... Her arms pulled tighter around her and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding "I can...see the situation you two were put in. I know I am nowhere near close to accepting it, we'll probably need to talk more later." This whole debacle was five minutes from turning into an emotional train wreck for her, and she'd be damned if that happened in front of the entire crew "Until then, mother." She made her way back to the wall she had been leaning against, schooling her face into a neutral expression as she sat in to witness the rest of the meeting. Aside from Heili moving to the back of the room, there was more movement by Legs' side. There was a small, bright blue figure climbing his way up the empress' body. There were several grunts of effort and more than a few times he lost his grip or footing and fell down, but eventually he made his way to her shoulder and took a seat. The figure, about the size of an adolescent child was none other than Mathison Fischer, Benzaiten of the Shichifukujin, head shipwright and technological scientist of the Black Widow Pirates, as well as Legs' personal armorer. Though in child form. He produced a box of cookies from within his coat and began munching on them. When he turned to speak to Legs, he was so far up and his voice wouldn't be able to carry far enough for anyone else to hear "I knew you and Mr. Monologue over there were doing the flesh tango, the nasty waltz, the sexy salsa, but you didn't tell me you had a baby. You have about...how old is Scott? Twenty, twenty one? We'll say twenty. You have twenty years of juicy gossip to fill me in on." He crossed his legs and continued eating his cookies, looking down on the other members of the crew with no small amount of joy. He loved being up this high, made him feel like king of the word. “Fischer…” Legs mumbled, glancing towards Thatch, Heili, Static, but for this moment, despite everything that had happened, her eyes were focused purely upon Isshin as he stood before the mass, his muscular frame shielding her from the world. She sat their quietly, pondering the situation, and ruminating on her thoughts. Then, a smile crept onto her visage. “I understand, Fischer…” There was a moment of confusion. “I think I finally understand….what it takes to be King.” She shook her head, turning her head slightly to bring him into her line of sight. “I’ll tell you exactly what I mean later.” If she had told him now, it would have deterred what she had just learned. Though, the simple premise is that she had truly achieved what she desired out of the Black Widow Pirates; to her, the marines, the Shichibukai, they were puppets. Mere instruments of war and sabotage by the Gorosei with no authority, or opinion of their own. She didn’t need puppets. She needed warriors, innovators, trendsetters, legends, trailblazers…Isshin’s defense, Thatch’s comments, Heili’s rebuttals, Annabeth’s critiques all demonstrated this. It was not through simple propaganda, or fear that they confided to her will, but because they believed in its cause. This is what it takes to be King. Thus, she sat quietly, observing her fellow man with an immovable grin. Annabeth's cross temperament faded with each passing syllable. Truly, she wasn't angry so much as disappointed. She already understood their reasoning for not disclosing Soren's existence, but couldn't help but feel blindsided by how his existence was first disclosed to the BWP and the world. Nevertheless, both her father and Isshin were right; this was neither the time to collapse into infighting nor necessarily their place to critique the couple's decision. Yet she pushed on with one more comment. "Even if you didn't believe in your son's strength, you should have believed in ours and our ability to protect him until he could stand on his own, Izanami; we're more than just a renegade band of pirates or cold political officials. Being a Black Widow Pirate means something to me, to all of us; we take care of our own." A deep exhale followed by with Isshin. After that, it was a face of regret as he looked back towards Annabeth. As one of the Shichifukujin, Annabeth was one of Isshin's direct subordinates. It hurt Isshin to see her disappointed in him. But, he was not going to deny any accusations, he simply couldn't today. "You're right, Annabeth..." Isshin said softly, and looked at her directly in the eye. "As your senior...I sincerely apologize, to not only you, but all of you in the Black Widow Pirates. Unlike our Captain...I simply refused to trust anybody. I realize now that was the biggest mistake I have made since taking up this position..." "But I have heard your qualms, your true thoughts, and with that, my mind is made up. You all truly are the warriors that our Captain looked for. It's with your unified concern for the solidarity of the Black Widow Pirates, that I truly believe we'll be able to rule the seas." Isshin spoke boldly, and kept his eyes resolute. This was a turning point for not only himself, but for the Black Widow Pirates. A new voice arose within the area, coming from nearby where Isshin and the others stood, "I had chosen to stay silent for the rest of this conversation..." It pertained to Draco D. Indiana, the Shichifukujin's Minister of Circulation, who wore his casual clothes. "My... knowledge about Li'l Soren's true self was heavily circunstancial, after all," He sighed, palming his face and lightly gritting his teeth. "I really see no reason for a full apologize..." Indiana took to looking at all of them, "But, seeing how I am one of the few trusted with a lot of information and knowledge." Getting up, Indiana swiftly bowed at the other pirates, "I also offer my own apologies." Some clicking noises echoed in the left corner of the chamber; the place where Minnie was sitting near, at the side of the captain. Apparently, she was busy maintaining her trusted rifle, Gandiva: opening the bolt chamber, depleting its cartridges, reloading them again and closing the chamber. Opening, reloading, closing again. An exercise in futility, one may think, but was the young guard's best method to calm her mind, a weird kind of meditation for a person raised and bred as a soldier. "I believe there is nothing you have apologize for, mister Indiana", she addressed her peer's concern. "if our masters have ordered you to keep this information a secret even from us, you have just fulfilled you duty. One must seldom blame the loyal conduct of a soldier, if he does fulfill his duty with diligence and honesty". If anything, but she hated to admit, it was the commanders fault. Minnie could understanding Isshin and Legs reasoning, as the daughter of a head of Government she understood the value of secrecy, and the dangers in having the slightest bits of information even potentially disclosed to the world. A third child from the Black Widow herself was something to keep absolutely under warps, unless they planned to turn Soren in an infamous and powerful warlord on par with his parents; a choice whom they both dreaded, and Minnie wholeheartedly agreed with. But keeping the entire crew obscure to the fact... their own children. That she could not agree. Nor as a soldier, neither as a daughter. Leaders must surround themselves with a cabinet they can entrust with their very own life. Without knowing everything about prime objectives and broad-term strategies, no subordinate in any high position can work as efficiently. The family side of the equation was actually worse. Legs children... they had every right to be mad about it. Minnie knew all too well there was a lot of bad blood between Legs and her two elder kids, Kuroshio and Kisaki. Two powerful, cutthroat fighters embarking in a years of spying, who nonetheless longed for the loving embrace of their mother. An embrace which Legs would have loved to reciprocate, as Minnie could have stake her head that the Empress loved her prole more than her own life itself, but could never do fully as her duty as a ruler always got in the way. And they knew of a spoiled child, one who had never to face the hardships of life, who had been showered with affection by both Legs and Isshin, the one man the Empress has ever loved. That reeked of favoritism, whenever Legs and intended to be so or not; and favoritism, history can attest, is a most common cause of many empires falling apart. No doubt Minnie would have exposed those concerns. Not there, though, since she could not afford to question her own commanders loyalty in such critical and difficult predicaments. Besides, she had to think a way to make things somewhat better between Legs and her children. She owned her captain this one. So she remained silent, scanning the surrounding with her piercing, golden pupils, which nothing could miss. The Plan Category:Role-Plays Category:Ash9876 Category:Berserkchart486 Category:Shoshiki Category:Great Achlus